12 Dirtiest Players in the NFL Today

One of the most awesome things about the National Football League is hard hitting—the guys who can really deliver a vicious blow to an opponent.

But sometimes players go too far. They hit with their helmet or hit after the whistle. Recently the NFL has been cracking down on illegal helmet-to-helmet hits with fines (and potentially suspensions), but that hasn't stopped a number of players from continuing their dirty style of play.

The following slides will introduce the 12 dirtiest players in the NFL today.

Brian Dawkins, FS, Denver Broncos

Brian Dawkins is my all-time favorite athlete and perhaps the nicest human being on Planet Earth.

But he is unfortunately at least a mildly dirty player. He actually has a (probably well-deserved) reputation for being able to get away with illegal hits because of his nice-guy image.

In 2009, Sports Illustrated highlighted him as one of the dirtiest players in the league. He's also had some extremely questionable hits over the years, notably a hit that ended Giants wide receiver Ike Hilliard's season in 2002 (Dawkins was fined $50,000 for the hit).

Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Not many wide receivers are considered dirty players. Hines Ward is an exception.

One of the best blockers at his position in league history, Ward has become notorious for his cheap shots. In 2008, he broke the jaw of Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers with a block. The NFL changed its rules the next year, banning such hits.

Cortland Finnegan, CB, Tennessee Titans

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Finnegan was voted the dirtiest player in the National Football League by Sporting News in a vote taken midway through the 2010 season.

Perhaps the best example of Finnegan's dirty play is the pushing and shoving between him and Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson last year, an incident that ended with Finnegan and Johnson fighting.

You've probably heard the joke by now: Cortland Finnegan should change his name to Innegan because Andre Johnson knocked the F out of him.

What's even worse for a guy like Finnegan is that he enjoys his reputation as the league's dirtiest player.

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

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James Harrison, to me, is the dirtiest player the NFL has seen in years and years.

The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker was fined $120,000 for a number of illegal hits last season. In particular, he knocked Cleveland receivers Mohamed Massaquoi and Joshua Cribbs out of the game. He also had hits on defenseless quarterbacks three times (Drew Brees, Jason Campbell and Ryan Fitzpatrick were the victims).

In 2011, Harrison will probably become the first NFL player ever suspended for an illegal hit.

Jason Babin, DE, Philadelphia Eagles

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With the Tennessee Titans last season, Babin was fined a total of $35,000 for illegal hits, notably a play against the San Diego Chargers when he attempted to take out quarterback Philip Rivers at the knees.

Albert Haynesworth, DT, New England Patriots

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The newly acquired Patriots defensive tackle has been voted as high as the second-dirtiest player in the league by his peers. He is an aggressive, tough football player who has been known to take it too far more than a few times.

In 2006, he stomped on the head of Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode, causing Gurode to bleed profusely from his scalp. Haynesworth's five-game suspension was the longest in-season suspension for an on-field incident in NFL history.